VAHAN HOVHANNISYAN’S STATEMENT

Hayots Ashkhar
Published on February 29, 2008

Dear compatriots,

The post-electoral atmosphere continues to remain heated.

The dead-end situation existing at present may be advantageous to
anyone, but not to us. We are just obliged to relax the atmosphere;
we are obliged to find a way out.

Confrontations, splitting and intolerance are not a way of solving
problems.

On the contrary, the delay in the current situation is intensifying
the distrust, splitting our citizens apart. As a result, the country
is becoming weaker.

What is the way out?

First, I welcome all the sincere appeals for tolerance and cooperation,
voiced recently.

Second, we are just obliged to rule out all the possible conflicts. We
must realize that those who hold contrary viewpoints constitute an
element of the same people, and the political forces should have a
supreme task not to allow internal splitting. Undesired developments
may be prevented through negotiations only.

And I propose a negotiation agenda which may ease the tension,
lead to consent and mark a new beginning of an in-depth process of
democratization inside the country.

In my understanding, there are three priority issues:

First: developing unanimously a new electoral system that will rule
out the possibility of any electoral wrongdoing and sharply increase
the people’s self-confidence of forming a government at their own
will. One of the forms is, for example, ensuring the complete freedom
and independence of the electoral system.

Second: creating conditions for real diversity of opinions and
freedom of speech in the country. For example, the first step may be
setting up a National Committee of Television and Radio and forming
the chairmanship of the Public Television by the unanimous consent
of the political factions.

Third: creating conditions guaranteeing the Opposition’s full
involvement in the political system. In this respect, introducing
relevant changes in the National Assembly’s Regulations may be one
of the several steps.

I want to underline that my party and I have concrete and detailed
proposals with respect to the above-mentioned three issues, and we
are ready to introduce them during the negotiations.

Dear Friends,

As a citizen, as a representative of a national party, I suggest that
we focus on these issues and initiate talks with the involvement of
the influential political factions, refraining from maximalism and
confrontations that lead nowhere.

28 February, 2008